Eternally Yours
by DarKxKunoichi
Summary: SubZero x Kitana. Chapter 3. While escaping his assassins, SubZero comes upon the castle of a certain princess.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: All characters within this story belong to Midway.

Chapter 1

(Earthrealm – Forest)

The full moon shone brightly in the night sky. It was a welcome sight to the hunters of the forest; however, it could be a death sentence to their prey. One prey in particular cursed the brightness of the moon: the former Lin Kuei ninja Sub-Zero. He ran full speed through the heavily vegetated forest using all of his ninja training to avoid his stalkers.

'How am I supposed to get out of this one?' he muttered in his head.

Sub-Zero dashed violently in all directions while keeping his hearing sharp for any signs of the robotic assassins. He didn't think he would have to worry about them after he left the Lin Kuei territory but it looked like the Grand Master wasn't very happy for his best ninja, let alone the only cryomancer, to leave the clan. Suddenly his enhanced hearing picked up a familiar sound.

'Oh… son of a…'

His thoughts were cut short as he jumped to avoid an explosion. Sub-Zero frowned as he judged the area of effect for the explosion. It was obviously one of Sektor's missiles and after a quick observation; Sub-Zero concluded that it was one of his homing missiles.

'That means he's not that close…' he frowned in thought. 'Still… I should get a move on.'

His vision suddenly became unfocused and he felt a strange pull on his mind. Sub-Zero shook his head vigorously and cautiously investigated the source of his sudden discomfort. The ninja's eyes widen when he found a dark swirling portal behind the brush.

'This could lead anywhere….'

The cryomancer's senses kicked in and he reflexively dashed forward, leaving behind an icy sculpture of himself. He turned to find the ice clone ensnared by an electric net. Another one of his reflexes caused him to release an orb of frozen energy from his hand, effectively immobilizing a missile.

"Well, anywhere is better than this…." Sub-Zero said bitterly and took his chances with the portal.

(Edenia – Castle Courtyard)

Sub-Zero grunted loudly as the portal spit him out face first onto the ground. He rubbed the back of his head gently and opened his eyes in time to see Cyrax and Sektor trudging their way towards him.

'Oh damn it…' Sub-Zero rolled his eyes. 'Why don't they just give up?'

The renegade ninja immediately located the highest open window on an enormous castle. That was his best chance to hide from the robotic ninjas. They were sent to ruthlessly follow him, but Sub-Zero knew that harming anyone except their target wasn't in their programming. Using his cryomancer powers, he created temporary ice steps leading to his destination. He made one final leap into the room and ducked quickly when he saw red and yellow out of the corner of his eye. The ninja quickly scanned the room for anything that might help him hide. The room was beautifully decorated with carefully carved wooden furniture and miscellaneous ornately decorated items. Sub-Zero suddenly felt incredibly out of place especially when he spotted a slender figure asleep in an oversized canopy styled bed.

He leaped into a shadowy corner. 'Whew… it figures something like this would happen to me…'

Sub-Zero let out a breath and slumped slightly… right before knocking over a porcelain figure. He winced as he heard the item shatter. He watched the sleeping figure immediately rise and begin to scan the room cautiously. The ninja steeled himself when the woman's eyes landed directly on him. He quickly considered freezing her and then slipping out of the room but the shadows hid him well and she didn't take notice of his presence. Much to Sub-Zero's relief, the woman went back to sleep after another minute or so.

'I need to get the _hell_ out of here.'

He quickly moved towards the window and froze when a large steel bladed fan pierced the wall in front of him. His head snapped to the beautiful figure sitting upright on her bed.

"Who are you?" she asked vehemently.

"Listen, I didn't mean to-" Sub-Zero started but was cut off by a swift punch to the face.

The woman had dashed off of her bed and attacked him fiercely. Sub-Zero was taken aback by her speed and ferocity. He tried to explain his situation to her after each blocked attack but she continued to cut him off with a swift blow to the head or stomach.

'This is getting ridiculous.' He growled in his head; his patience wearing thin.

The woman jumped into the air with a kick, which was caught by the ninja. He proceeded to spin her around and throw her into the opposite wall. She let out painful grunt and before she could recover, he had pinned her to the wall and gave her a fierce stare.

"You're not listening to me." Sub-Zero stated.

The woman sneered and sharply kneed him in the groin. He let out a strained grunt and loosed his grip on her slightly. Sub-Zero felt her try to take advantage of his pain and promptly slammed her back into the wall while tightening his grip on her throat.

"That's not a nice thing to do…" Sub-Zero choked out. "… to someone who has control of whether or not you see the next sunrise."

The woman glared at him. "What do you want?"

"I'd rather have this conversation without my hand wringing your throat, be a good girl?"

She looked extremely aggravated but gave a short nod. Sub-Zero released her and introduced himself.

"I am Sub-Zero." He gave an introductory bow. "You are?"

"Kitana." She said massaging her throat. "Now, what are you doing here?"

"I came here to hide. There are some… people after me."

"What kind of people?"

"I am formerly of the Lin Kuei ninja of Earthrealm. They don't take it lightly when one of their own decides to leave the clan."

"Earthrealm?" Kitana said incredulously. "How did you end up in Edenia?"

"I used a portal to escape my pursuers. I only need to stay until I can find a portal to return to Earthrealm."

Kitana turned away from the ninja and contemplated the situation.

'How am I supposed to make a decision?' Kitana thought furiously. 'He came here and attacked me and now he expects me to let him stay here?'

She turned her head to find him staring at her stoically.

'I guess it was more of me attacking him than the other way around…'

"Okay." She said finally. "You can stay here but you have to stay out of sight. I don't want anyone knowing that I'm keeping a ninja in my room."

"I will." Sub-Zero bowed in gratitude. 'I'm not a dog.' he rolled his eyes.

"Good. Now I should get back to sleep. Do you…" Kitana started.

"I'll manage." Sub-Zero grunted.

Kitana grabbed her fan from the wall and went back to bed while Sub-Zero disappeared into the shadows.

End of Chapter 1

Author's Note: Tell me what you think guys!


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Thanks for the wait guys… and the reviews too!

Chapter 2

(Edenia – Kitana's Room)

Kitana let out a soft groan when she felt the sunlight hit her face. Her eyes opened slightly and noticed an unfamiliar shadow being cast over her body. She turned her head to find a magnificently built stranger staring out of the window. After replaying the previous night's events in her mind she remembered that it was ninja that came in the middle of the night: Sub-Zero. Kitana felt a light burning in her cheeks when she found herself admiring the ninja's muscular back. She even moved her head to find his finely crafted abs and smiled to herself when she noticed how his pectoral muscles and biceps were accented by the way he crossed his arms over his bare chest.

Sub-Zero felt a pair of lingering eyes on him and turned his head to her. "Good morning."

"You wear that mask and hood while you sleep?" Kitana questioned.

"It's a habit." He said flatly. "You're up early."

"Well I have some business to take care of." She said as she moved off of her bed. "Are you going to be okay alone?"

Sub-Zero moved behind a large dresser. "I have some business to take care of as well."

Kitana looked at him curiously. "Why did you…"

Suddenly the door to her room opened and a young girl entered.

"Princess, Jade is waiting for you downstairs. She wishes to speak with you."

"Tell her I'll be down soon." Kitana replied with a smile.

The girl bowed and left the room. Kitana's face contorted into a skeptically one as she turned to Sub-Zero.

"You knew she was coming?"

"You're a princess?" he countered.

"Is that a problem?" she quipped.

"I…suppose not." He averted his eyes in embarrassment. "I will go try to find a portal out of Edenia. I'll be back by nightfall."

Kitana watched as he put on the rest of his ninja garb and promptly jumped out of the window. She frowned and moved towards her dresser to change out of her sleepwear.

'What could Jade want so early in the morning anyway?'

The princess walked through the halls casually smiling politely to those she saw and found her best friend Jade waiting impatiently in the entrance hall.

"Finally!" Jade cried out in exasperation. "What took you so long?"

Kitana rolled her eyes. "You know I just had like 5 minutes notice. What did you expect?"

"I expect that your _best friend_ would be able to walk up to your room instead of having to wait in the entrance hall like a _stranger_."

"I'll talk to the guards about it." Kitana chuckled. "Now, what was it that you needed?"

"Queen Sindel gave me a few assignments today. They sound like it would involve some rough stuff." Jade smirked. "I was wondering if maybe you'd like to help me out?"

Kitana laughed. "I suppose I could help for a little while but I should be back before dark though."

"Aww… that's okay." Jade teased. "My mommy won't let me cross the street."

"Shut up."

(Edenia – Forest)

Sub-Zero sat crossed legged in the middle of a serene forest. His eyes were closed and his breathing was slow and concentrated. The ninja was searching for the pull on his mind that he felt the first time he sensed a portal. He picked up on the sounds of the forest: leaves rustling in the wind, birds feeding their young and insects flying around… but no portal.

"Nothing." He sighed. 'I'll have to keep searching.'

The cryomancer moved down his original path deeper into the forest. He kept his senses sharp for anything that felt unnatural within the forest. Sub-Zero was surprised to find that this was much more difficult than in Earthrealm because of the abundance of magical energy in Edenia. His senses barely picked up a missile in time to escape the explosion.

"Sektor…" he growled.

The menacing crimson cyborg moved quickly to dispatch his target. Sub-Zero blocked and countered, but his attacks were dodged and countered. The two ninjas fought fiercely, but because of their similar training they couldn't break through the other's defense. Sub-Zero knew this was a losing battle since the cyborg had an almost infinite amount of endurance. The ex-Lin Kuei warrior purposely left an opening and jumped back, leaving an ice clone, when the cyborg took advantage of this opening and froze. Sub-Zero dashed forward with a powerful roundhouse kick that forced Sektor into a tree. He then followed up with an uppercut but before the cryomancer could attack in the air, the cyborg disappeared and reappeared below Sub-Zero with his own uppercut. Sektor continued his assault with an elbow strike to his prey's stomach and finished by driving him into the ground with a powerful aerial axe kick.

Sub-Zero fell to the ground in a heap. 'I have no choice… I can't keep this up right now.'

He pushed himself up; his breathing became more uneven as time passed. His head slowly turned until he spotted Sektor preparing to fire a missile from his chest plate. Sub-Zero took his chance and released an orb of icy energy from his hand which effectively froze the missile within Sektor's chest. The cryomancer followed by freezing the ground below the cyborg causing him to slip and fall onto his back. He was then immobilized further by another ice blast from the icy ninja. Sub-Zero then used the rest of his energy to escape as quickly as he could. As he ran, he heard a loud explosion from the missile but he doubted that even an explosion of that magnitude could stop Sektor.

(Edenia – Canyon)

Kitana descended into the canyon with a series of quick jumps from ledge to ledge. She had changed from her princess-like attire into a black and blue shoulder-less as well as back-less leotard. It went up and connected around her neck while leaving a teasing amount of cleavage exposed. Her outfit was completed with matching thigh high boots, armguards and a ninja styled mask.

She turned to Jade who had landed in the canyon moments before her. "What are we doing here?"

Jade had on a similar uniform as Kitana. Although her boots only went up to her ankles, the armguards were replaced with elbow length gloves and both were colored black along with her mask. She had also added a metallic belt around her waist which featured a long green and black sash that hung between her legs. Her haired was pulled into a bun along with Kitana's but she secured lacquer chopsticks to keep the bun in place while Kitana used a gold clasp and a blue ribbon.

"We're looking for those mutants the queen's generals reported seeing here." Jade responded while resting her thin metal staff on her shoulder.

"The mutants again?" Kitana raised her eyebrow. "We've already searched half the realm for them. They're not here."

"Well now we're starting the other half." Jade retorted.

Kitana rolled her eyes. "Fine… but after this you're getting a big 'I told you so.'"

Their heads turned as they heard a deep snarling.

"You were saying?" Jade readied her staff.

"Okay… you got me this time." Kitana pulled out her fans.

There was a long eerie silence as the two warriors scanned the canyon for anything that might pose a threat. Minutes seemed to pass like hours as the women waited for something out of the ordinary to occur.

"Maybe it was just a wolf?" Kitana suggested.

They turned to find a large muscular Tarkatan mutant unsheathing his blades and snarling violently at them.

"Well… now I know I'm getting old." Jade remarked sarcastically. "They did _not_ make wolves like that in my day."

The princess ignored her friend and defended herself against the Tarkatan's furious blade swipes. She skillfully blocked each attack with her steel fans. The mutant was physically stronger than her and easily forced her back into one of the canyon walls. Kitana deflected a stab which caused the beast's arm to be caught the stone wall. Another repelled attack forced the second blade into the wall near her waist. She quickly took advantage by kneeing him in the stomach, spinning around and stabbing her fan into his abdomen. The finishing touch was slicing her second fan across his neck; effectively decapitating him. Kitana kicked his body off of her and noticed Jade was having problems of her own. She was faring well against a mutant that had attacked her, but more mutants seemed to be spawning out of nowhere. Kitana willed her fans to spin in a circular motion a few inches above her hand; creating a vortex that levitated several Tarkatan warriors into the air.

"Jade!" she called out. "Now!"

Jade stabbed her staff through a mutant's chest and pulled out her razor edged boomerang. It was thrown in a perfect arc and upon its return it sliced off the heads of the Tarkatan mutants that were floating helplessly in the air. In her distracted state Jade barely noticed that Kitana was at the mercy of one of the mutants. However, she couldn't help her friend now that three more mutants to contend with.

'Damn it.' Jade cursed in her head. 'Hang on Kitana…'

Kitana tried to kick off her attacker but he pinned her down roughly. He roared loudly in her face and bit into her shoulder. She suppressed a scream and decided to take her chances. Kitana pulled off her mask and her lips flashed quickly with a blue energy before she pressed them against the Tarkatan's cheek. He froze and gasped while tumbling backwards. A loud roar of pain echoed throughout the canyon as his body stretched to twice his normal height before exploding into a mass of blood, organs and limbs. Kitana clutched her injury and gathered herself back onto her feet. She limped towards Jade who was pulling her boomerang out of a Tarkatan's skull.

"You still need to teach me how to do that." Jade muttered putting away her boomerang.

"After today…you can forget about it." Kitana breathed heavily.

End of Chapter 2

Author's Note: This feels a little weird. I'm not sure why…


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews kids!

Chapter 3

(Edenia Castle – Kitana's Room)

The moon had just begun to shine mysteriously in the Edenian sky and it cast a tall, wide shouldered shadow into the princess' room. Sub-Zero had, with some difficulty, scaled the towering castle using his kori powers and somehow made it into Kitana's room safely while being unnoticed by any of Edenia's citizens. The cryomancer fell back against the wall and gripped his side in pain.

"That was harder than I thought." He sighed. 'She's not back yet huh?'

Just as Sub-Zero finished his thought Kitana burst through the door clutching her shoulder. The ninja heard her heavy breathing as she limped towards her bed. She straightened up when she spotted Sub-Zero leaning against the wall.

"Oh… you're back." The princess breathed and raised her eyebrow. 'There's… something different about him.'

He nodded gently.

"Are you alright?" Kitana questioned as she took a few steps towards him.

Sub-Zero grunted and straightened out. "I'm fine."

She pressed her hand against his stomach and he retracted against the wall. Kitana frowned and realized that ninja's still had their pride even though they went through extensive training to be emotionless. Even though he wasn't a native to Edenia, he was still a guest in her castle, and she had an obligation to take care of him… whether he liked it or not.

"You're not fine." She put his arm around her shoulder and half dragged him to her bed.

"Yes…" he swallowed. "…I am."

Sub-Zero was planted onto her bed and he leaned back to relieve the pain in his abs. He saw the room suddenly brighten as Kitana turned on a light and jumped slightly when he felt her yanking at his belt.

"W-what are you doing?" the ninja's eyes widened in surprise.

"I need to take off that silly thing you're wearing so I can get to you're wounds." Kitana explained.

"This _silly thing_ is a Lin Kuei ninja garb." Sub-Zero growled.

"Lighten up. You're not even part of that clan anymore."

"I will not _lighten up._ I still consider the clan my family no matter if I'm a part of it or not." The cryomancer snarled. "Besides… you are not one to judge me. I didn't realize that princess and prostitute were synonymous in this realm." He eyed her menacingly.

Kitana closed her eyes and swallowed her retort. "Listen… because I am a _princess_… I have a responsibility to care for the people in this realm… and that includes you."

She immediately clutched a deep cut in his arm and quickly undid his belt and pulled off the top of his ninja garb while he was distracted by his sudden burst of pain. Sub-Zero's breathing became heavy and erratic. He could feel the sweat dripping down his head beneath his hood. His eyes darkened in a way that promised an intense amount of suffering to whoever had wronged him. Kitana merely smirked at his loss of composure.

She lowered her lips to his ear. "Now be a good boy or I'll have to call the guards and they can throw you in the dungeon."

The ninja let out a deep growl and glared dangerously at her. He didn't have much of a choice; after all, he was in no condition to fight off her or any number of guards that may be inside the castle. Sub-Zero allowed her to examine him; wincing when her fingers brushed against a heavy bruise or a damaged bone. When she finished her examination of him Kitana frowned in thought.

'I can't take him to a hospital or anything…' she sighed. 'I'll have to see what I can do…'

Sub-Zero watched her walk out of the room and disappear into the hallway. He blinked in confusion and stared at the door expectantly for her return. She came back with a rather large metal chest in her arms. He assumed it was some sort of first aid kit and his suspicions were confirmed as he watched her pull out rolls of bandages and bottles of antiseptics. The ninja felt a sudden surge of nervousness shoot through him as he watched the princess soak the bandages in a clear liquid that looked like it would burn his flesh. His jaw clenched as he felt a searing pain in his wounds and took note of the enjoyment that danced in Kitana's eyes. This procedure continued for the longest 45 minutes of the cryomancer's life. Afterwards, he watched the princess slowly being bandaged him up. His numerous cuts were treated, the bruises were numbed and his damaged bones were set in to heal.

"You won't be able to go out for a few days." Kitana informed him.

He was about to sit up and protest but was swiftly forced back into the bed by Kitana.

"You're not listening to me." She said in a matter-of-factly tone.

"You have no control over me." Sub-Zero said through gritted teeth.

"Actually…I do." The princess said triumphantly. "I'm faster than you and in your condition… I can overpower you pretty easily."

The ninja's hand glowed with an icy energy. "Well I can…"

"Can you?" she jabbed his ribs forcing him to clench his fist in pain and causing the energy disappear.

A familiar growl rose in Sub-Zero throat; a growl that Kitana was growing accustomed to. The cryomancer knew when he was defeated and decided to go along with the princess for now. He was starting to get comfortable on this bed anyway and after a deep breath he easily succumbed to his body's fatigue.

After a few hours of sleep Sub-Zero's wounds started to throb painfully. He gripped his side and turned over and to his surprise he found Kitana resting peacefully beside him. The ex-Lin Kuei warrior stared at her and forgetting his pain, he became lost in thought.

'There's… something about her.' He blinked. 'I've never met anyone like her; someone so kind and warm-hearted… but even with that… she has such a fiery personality.' A sigh escaped his lips as he continued his thoughts. 'Is she so special? I've spent all of my life within my clan… I didn't think that anyone with her kind of personality could survive in this world. Maybe all the time I've spent with killers has made my heart cold and made me blind to how good people can be.' The ninja allowed a small smile to play on his lips beneath his mask. 'Yeah… she's definitely something special… something… so… beau-'

Sub-Zero's eyes widened and a blush went through his cheeks. What was his thinking? An unfamiliar feeling began to surge through him; it was something that warmed his heart… he felt a sudden weight being lifted off of him.

'Is it… because of her?' He took an educated guess. 'She… certainly has a different effect on me than anyone else I've met. I've never had so much trouble concealing my emotions around someone. Perhaps she's…'

The sun rose high into the air and shined its rays into the princess' chamber; causing the ninja to stir from his sleep. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes and noticed the princess was no longer next to him. The door opened slowly and Kitana walked in with a tray of food. Sub-Zero stared at her curiously.

"Sorry I couldn't get you more." Kitana smiled. "It would've looked a little suspicious if I was carrying a feast up to my room."

Sub-Zero avoided eye contact. "You… didn't need to do that…"

"Well it's not like you can go out and get food yourself. Besides I had something to take care of."

It was at that moment that Sub-Zero noticed bandages wrapped around her shoulder.

"What happened?" he questioned.

"I got it yesterday while I was out." She explained. "I was running… errands with my friend Jade."

"What kind of errands could cause an injury like that?"

"We were investigating some rumors about Outworld mutants in Edenia and it turns out they were true."

Sub-Zero raised an eyebrow. "I didn't realize that that was part of a princess' duty."

"Well it is for this princess." Kitana smiled.

"Wait…" the ninja paused in thought. "You said that you took care of that this morning?"

"I didn't say that… but I did take care of it this morning."

"Last night… you… took care of me." He said quietly.

Kitana laughed softly. "Well you were worse off than I was. Don't worry so much; you're hair will turn grey."

He stared deeply into the food that she brought him. 'She… took care of me… before even tending to herself first?

"Are you not hungry?" Kitana interrupted his thoughts.

"Uh…no…no…" He absentmindedly took a bite of toast. "Thank you."

"It's not a problem. Well… make sure you stay in bed. I have some things to do so I'll be back to check on you in a couple of hours."

The cryomancer nodded and watched her walk out of the door. He didn't understand it… but he continued to stare at the door for a while longer before he realized what he was doing. A sigh escaped from his lips and the same thought ran through his head over and over again.

'What is this I'm feeling?'

(Edenia – Plains)

It had been about an hour since Kitana left Sub-Zero to his own devices and she had already found herself being dragged on another mutant hunt with Jade. Although she did feel it was important to track down the Tarkatan warriors, she didn't feel like repeating her last encounter with the beasts. She quickly grew tired of treading the hilly plains of Edenia and fell back onto the soft grass.

"Hey… what are you doing?" Jade called back to her. "We still have a lot of ground to cover!"

'I hope he's not doing anything stupid…' Kitana thought with worry. 'I guess it could just be in his nature to not sit around and do nothing. Heh… kind of like me I suppose…' The princess closed her eyes and sighed. 'There's something about him though… I wonder…'

"Kitana! Are you listening to me?" Jade half scolded her absent minded friend.

"What?" she responded distractedly.

"You've been off focus all day. What's going on with you?"

"Oh…uhh…" the princess started.

"You know…" Jade said slyly. "The last time I saw you like this you were thinking about some guy… what was his name?"

Kitana shot up. "This isn't the same thing! I'm thinking about…"

"Liu Kang right?" Jade teased. "That guy from Earthrealm. What was going on between you two anyway?"

"I lost the necklace my mother gave me." she gritted her teeth.

"You did? When?" Jade tilted her head questioningly.

"I don't know… I'll have to look for it later."

"Well… since we're taking a break… why don't you tell me about this new guy?" Jade smiled widely beneath her mask.

"There isn't a new guy." Kitana rolled her eyes.

"Uh huh..." Jade said knowingly. "I'm your best friend; I know you; the last time you were like this you had feelings for a guy…"

The princess stood up and walked past her friend. "Let's go… we have a lot of ground to cover."

Jade smirked. "We sure do."

Kitana walked quickly with clenched fists, narrowed eyes and a frown forming underneath her mask.

'I don't…_like_ him… right?'

End of Chapter 3

Author's Note: Feedback is appreciated!


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